A Collection from the 2024 Winter School of Translation

Translation: Marianna Pacáková

The First Winter School of Translation Collection: Contributions, Lectures, and Interviews (2024)

The idea of organising the Winter School of Translation came about on a bench outside the Faculty of Arts at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. Two students and a lecturer, chatting over coffee, discussed ways to connect students, involve them more actively, and give them space for self-realization.

After their conversation, the students decided to turn the idea into reality. The goals were clear from the start – to connect the community of translation and interpreting students, to motivate and engage them in organizing the event, and to help the future alumni transition from school to professional practice. A group of enthusiastic students began meeting regularly. These meetings culminated in a three-day event featuring more than 30 experts who decided to share their experience. The event featured four workshops focusing on different aspects of translation and interpreting, two networking activities, and a cultural and entertainment programme on Friday and Saturday evenings. Together we experienced a weekend full of learning, friendships, and new partnerships. 

The Winter School of Translation took place from the 2nd to the 4th of February 2024 and featured presentations by students, academics, translation agencies, publishers, and literary translators. In this collection, we bring you some of the studies, discussions, and interviews that took place during the event.

Students Katarína Hajabáčová and Simona Nagyová from Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, along with Karin Korkutata from Comenius University in Bratislava, shared their experiences of translating while still studying. Samuel Malý, a student at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, led a workshop on intersemiotic translation, which he has also contributed to this collection.

We also conducted an interview with Patrícia Holíková, Michal Kmeť, and Martin Eichler, representatives from the translation agencies Transcreate, Otago, and Translata.

Literary translation is another major theme of this collection. In addition to interviews with literary translators Paulína Šedíková Čuhová, Marianna Bachledová, and Barbora Vinczeová, we include articles on the DoSlov Association of Literary Transators and the journal Verzia, which is dedicated to translated literature. Translated literature was also discussed in an interview with Michal Chudý and Marcel Melicher, representatives of the publishing houses Grada and BRAK.

The collection includes three contributions focused on localisation. In her study, Mária Koscelníková, a lecturer at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, explores the specific challenges of adapting video games into films and books. Milan Velecký, a student at Comenius University, analyses the role of community localization in the gaming industry. Martin Feník, a bachelor's student at the University of Prešov, examines the translation of video games from the Warcraft series.

The collection concludes with an informal interview with Martin Djovčoš and Matej Laš, who share their thoughts on social issues, education, and student life.

The number of people who contributed to the collection you are now holding is countless. To all of them, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude — especially for their help, advice, conversations, and unwavering desire to build a student community of translators and interpreters across Slovakia.